Illegal stemming?

The NCAA football rulebook says that when snapping the ball, defensive "player(s) aligned in a stationary position within one yard of the line of scrimmage may not make quick or abrupt actions that are not part of normal defensive player movement."

The penalty is a dead-ball foul, 5 yards from the succeeding spot.

SDSU football 2012

Sept. 1: at Washington

Sept. 8: Army

Sept. 15: North Dakota

Sept. 22: San Jose State

SDSU then begins play in the Mountain West. That schedule hasn't been released.

NEW ORLEANS  Different people had different ways to describe the strange last-minute penalty that was called Saturday night at the Superdome

The game official called it “illegal stemming.”

San Diego State head coach Rocky Long called it a “phantom call.”

After SDSU lost the game 32-30, Aztecs fans called it “What?”

There were four seconds remaining in the New Orleans Bowl. SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley had just marshaled his team back to take a 30-29 lead with 35 seconds left. But Louisiana-Lafayette drove to the SDSU 38-yard line, setting up a 55-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Brett Baer, whose previous career long was 49-yards.

Every inch and flinch was crucial. And that’s when the whistle blew, with each side pointing to the other as the guilty party. SDSU players claimed that the Ragin’ Cajuns had committed illegal motion before the snap, a 5-yard penalty that would have made it a 60-yard field-goal try for Baer.

Instead, the officials -- a Big 12 Conference crew -- ruled that SDSU had illegally tried to induce the Cajuns’ movement with movements of their own. The 5-yard penalty set up Baer’s 50-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.

“We didn’t have one guy move,” Long said. “I have no idea who they called it on. (The official) came over and said he called it on the end man on the line of scrimmage. Did anyone in this room see anyone move?”

The rulebook says defensive players "aligned in a stationary position within one yard of the line of scrimmage may not make quick or abrupt actions that are not part of normal defensive player movement."

It’s just not formally called “stemming,” an unfamiliar term that had many sportswriters Googling for a definition late Saturday while facing unforgiving newspaper deadlines.

In effect, the officials ruled that the Cajuns’ movement on offense “stemmed” from SDSU’s illegal flinch on defense -- an apparent jolting move by senior lineman J.J. Autele. It’s just debatable whether SDSU moved enough to deserve the penalty or whether the Cajuns (9-4) should have been flagged instead.

Even Cajuns head coach Mark Hudspeth said, “They called it on them instead of us.”

And he wasn’t sure what caused it. “They tried to draw us offside either with a movement or noise or voice.”

If no penalty was called, would it have made a difference? Baer’s kick probably would have been good from 58 yards. But a 55-yard try is different mentally for a kicker who’s never made one longer than 49.

If the penalty had gone against the Cajuns instead, it might not have made it, and SDSU (8-5) would have won a game for the ages.

“We had a defensive lineman stand,” SDSU linebacker Miles Burris said. “He didn’t step forward or move. He drew movement, so they called a penalty on us. I didn’t like it.”

Unfortunately for SDSU, the controversial finale wasted what may have been Lindley’s finest hour at SDSU. In trademark fashion, SDSU fell into another early hole, this time 19-3. Yet Lindley never surrendered, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half to sophomore receiver Colin Lockett.

On his final drive in his final college game, he even cut loose and ran with the football – something he almost never did previously. His 15-yard run gave SDSU a first down at the Cajuns 29. He then found Lockett open in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass, helping SDSU take the 30-29 lead.

Asked afterward if he thought his team had won the game, Lindley said, “Thirty seconds on the clock? You’d like to think so. That’s why you play the games to double zero.”

In the end, the controversial penalty was easy to blame. But as the Aztecs well know, they blew many other opportunities that could have prevented a last-second finish – several more dropped passes by receivers and a 36-yard missed field goal in the fourth quarter by Abel Perez. The SDSU defense also seemed less aggressive than normal against a fiery Cajuns team known for its fourth-quarter drama.

Cajuns quarterback Blaine Gautier was named the game’s MVP after completing 24 of 40 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.

Long will now hit the recruiting trail. His team’s next game is the 2012 season opener, Sept. 1 at Washington.